From the classifieds: $1k cheapies

Okay, so you’ve got a thousand bucks burning a hole in your wallet and you're looking for some motorised two-wheeled distraction… Is it possible to even find a used motorbike these days for less than a grand?

My own first bike, a Suzuki GSX250S, cost me $1000 (promptly paid for with my first credit card – it was a 'life lesson' in the making!). But in hindsight, it was a rickety and grubby example with who knows how many kays lurking beneath its frozen odometer. And besides, it was a 1982 model, and this was 1992… But it ran, and it was registered – and I was on the road!

So, can you still pick up a ready-to-ride bike for a cool grand? With around 10,000 bikes listed for sale at the moment, bikesales is a great starting point to go hunting for 'cheap and cheerful' options (or bikes at any price point, really)…

A few taps of a keyboard later, and we have some options. Ignoring all the mopeds, scooters, and mini bikes, here's what your $1000 will get you* (and in some cases, still leave you with change!)…

2009 Sachs Express 150

Style: Commuter
Location: Victoria
Running: Yes
Registered: No
Roadworthy certificate: No
Asking price: $700 negotiable
Historic German company Sachs got going in the late 1890s, and since then has largely specialised in small-capacity models. Better known in recent years for its MadAss, an avant-garde commuter with a distinctive, chunky tubular frame, the Express 150 is a traditional naked commuter, manufactured in China. The owner says it's proven to be one project bike too many, and now it has to go. It runs but won't idle, and its 149cc single-cylinder engine has 6900km on the clock.

2000 Kawasaki ZZ-R250

Style: Entry-level sports
Location: Victoria
Running: Yes
Registered: No
Roadworthy certificate: No
Asking price: $750 negotiable
The Kawasaki ZZ-R250 was a racier-looking version of the brand's GPX250, with a 248cc parallel-twin engine that can trace its history back over many years. It was an appealing learner bike in its day, with styling reminiscent of Kawasaki's speed king of the 1990s, the ZZ-R1100. The photos of this example show it with L-plate in place and some scuffed and damaged bodywork. It's offered without registration or a roadworthy certificate, and with over 382,000km showing on its odometer.

2012 Kinlon 200RT

Style: Enduro
Location: Victoria
Running: Yes
Registered: No
Roadworthy certificate: No
Asking price: $800
The Kinlon brand is a Chinese range of bikes produced by the massive Chongqing Longxin group, which is also behind the Loncin name. For those looking for a dual-purpose bike, the enduro-style Kinlon 200RT is powered by a 194cc single-cylinder engine, with this example having just over 7800km on its clock. The owner says it runs great once it's warmed up but is being sold because it's not getting used.

2012 Hyosung GT650R

Style: Sports (track bike)
Location: New South Wales
Running: Yes
Registered: No
Roadworthy certificate: No
Asking price: $1000
Looking for some track-day fun? This Hyosung GT650R is a track bike, and is offered without registration. The owner says the frame is a statutory write-off (but without any damage) so it can't be registered in NSW, and that the fuel-injected engine has been replaced with a carburetted version (total mileage unknown). The owner also says the engine has just been serviced, the battery is new and there's plenty of life left in its tyres.

2002 Kawasaki GPX250R

Style: Entry-level sports
Location: Queensland
Running: Unknown
Registered: No
Roadworthy certificate: No
Asking price: $1000
Like the Kawasaki ZZ-R250 listed earlier in this article, the GPX250R can trace its lineage back through decades of Kwaka history. Both the GPX250R and ZZ-R250 are distant forebears of today's Ninja 400, and the Ninja 300 and Ninja 250 before it. The owner of the advertised bike says it's an unfinished project on which he or she had intended to get their licence, and it's listed with over 72,000km on its odometer.

Well, it seems a cool grand ain't what it used to be. Yes, it can still get you a running motorcycle – or at least 'sort of' running – but as for one that's also on the road and registered? Nup.

Not surprising, we guess, given that it can take the better part of a grand just to cover registration and third-party insurance for a bike these days.

Still, keep those eyes peeled because the odd bargain can still be had. People have to sell suddenly to free up some cash, people want to sell off items from a deceased estate with a minimum of fuss, and sometimes people just want to shift a stubborn sale for which the asking price has proven a bit too high.

And for tinkerers and those just after a bit of fun in the shed, there are many unfinished projects just waiting to be brought back to life...

bikesales has not physically inspected the motorcycles featured in this article; while bikesales and the wider carsales group of websites go to significant lengths to ensure the safety of both buyers and sellers of products listed in our classifieds, all the usual precautions apply. For hints on what to look for when buying used, see our guide, Advice: How to buy second-hand.